Consumer behaviour is the study of how individuals, groups and
organisations select, buy, use and dispose of goods, services, ideas or
experiences to satisfy their needs and wants
SOCIAL FACTORS
Humans are social beings and they live around many people who
influence their buying behaviour. Human try to imitate other humans and
also wish to be socially accepted in the society. Hence their buying
behaviour is influenced by other people around them. These factors are
considered as social factors. Some of the social factors are
i. Family
Family plays a significant role in shaping the buying behaviour of a
person. A person develops preferences from his childhood by watching
family buy products and continues to buy the same products even when
they grow up
ii. Reference groups
A reference group of people are the groups that have direct, face to face,
or indirect influence on their attitudes or behaviour. It is a group of
people with whom a person associates himself
iii. Roles and status
A person is influenced by the role that he holds in the society. If a person
is in a high position, his buying behaviour will be influenced largely by his
status and vice versa
CULTURAL FACTORS
A group of people are associated with a set of values and ideologies that
belong to a particular community. When a person comes from a particular
community, his/her behaviour is highly influenced by the culture relating
to that particular community
Some of the cultural factors are
i. Culture
Culture is the fundamental determinant of a person’s wants and
behaviours acquired through socialisation processes with family and other
key institutions
ii. Subculture
Within a cultural group, there exists many subcultures. These subcultures
include nationalities, religions, racial groups, geographic regions
iii. Social Class
Social class conveys perceptions of inferior or superior position. Class may
be indicated by a cluster of variables such as occupation, income, wealth
etc. Class designation is mobile over time
PERSONAL FACTORS
Factors that are personal to the consumers influence their buying
behaviour. These personal factors differ from person to person, thereby
producing different perceptions and consumer behaviour
Some of the personal factors are
i. Age and life cycle
The purchasing choices of youth differ from that of middle-aged people.
Elderly people have a totally different buying behaviour
Teenagers will be more interested in buying colourful clothes and beauty
products
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Middle-aged are focused on house, property and vehicle for the family
Personality and self concept
Personality is a set of distinguishing human psychological traits that lead
to relatively consistent and enduring responses to environmental stimuli
Consumers often choose and use brands that have a brand personality
consistent with their own actual self-concept i.e how we view ourselves
iii. Occupation
Occupation of a consumer influences the buying behaviour. A person
tends to buy things that are appropriate to this/her profession. For
example, a doctor would buy clothes according to this profession while a
professor will have different buying pattern
iv. Lifestyle and values
The buying behaviour is highly influenced by the lifestyle and the values
of a consumer. For example when a consumer leads a healthy lifestyle,
then the products he buys will relate to healthy alternatives to junk food
Psychological Factors
Human psychology is a major determinant of consumer behaviour. These
factors are difficult to measure but are powerful enough to influence a
buying decision
Some of the important psychological factors are
Motivation
Motivation refers to a process of stimulating and inspiring people at work
to accomplished desired goals. When a person is motivated enough, it
influences the buying behaviour of the person
ii. Perception
Customer perception is a process where a customer collects information
about a product and interprets the information to make a meaningful
image about a particular product. When a customer sees advertisements,
customer reviews, etc relating to a product, they develop an impression
about the product
iii. Learning
When a person buys a product, he/she gets to learn something more
about the product. Learning comes over a period of time through
experience
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iv. Attitudes and Beliefs
Consumers have certain attitude and beliefs which influence the buying
decisions of a consumer. Based on this attitude, the consumer behaves in
a particular way towards a product. This attitude plays a significant role in
defining the brand image of a product. Hence, the marketers try hard to
understand the attitude of a consumer to design their marketing
campaigns
